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For over six decades, NTUC’s focus has always been on our workers, especially the vulnerable workers – protecting and advancing their interests, uplifting their lives and in turn, strengthening the social compact. As we reached the milestone of 1 million memberships last year, as well as established key training and transformation capabilities, we remain committed to protecting our workers and to widen our representation by reaching out to newer segments of workers.
As we transit to the endemic phase after the last two years of fighting the pandemic, livelihoods remain the core concern of our workers. Cost of living is a growing concern too. The best approach is to enable our workers to access better jobs, earn better wages with better skills.
Enabling Better Wages and Work Prospects through Training and Transformation
NTUC will continue to pay close attention to safeguard our workforce income security and growth – with better wages from better jobs and relevant skills, our workers will be equipped with an added level of protection when coping with the rising cost of living.
The launch of Company Training Committees (CTC) in April 2019 to identify areas of training and skills that workers need to keep up with industry transformation has seen the setting up of 811 CTCs to date. To strengthen the work of CTCs, NTUC set up the Training and Placement ecosystem last year, supplemented with the Operation & Technology Roadmap (OTR) process. 266 companies had completed OTR (119 at company level and 147 at sectoral level). On job placement, since the formation of the NTUC Job Security Council in February 2020, NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) has helped more than 46,000 workers from February 2020 to December 2021 through various efforts such as matching displaced workers into new jobs or helping workers transit to secondary jobs.
Beyond CTCs that align workers’ training to company’s transformation efforts, NTUC has been working with our tripartite partners to look at the transformation of businesses and workers at a sectoral level, benefitting workers in the same sector across large and small enterprises. Our ambition is to establish academies in sectors where we see a need for transformation. These academies must be tripartite in nature with different anchor tripartite operators based on experience and resources, with the mutual aim of bridging skill gaps to improve job matching results.
One of the targeted sectors that NTUC is exploring includes the tourism sector which was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic – NTUC Hospitality and Consumer Business Cluster1F of unions, together with NTUC, NTUC’s e2i and Singapore Tourism Board (STB) have commenced discussions to pilot a career hub for tourism that will provide integrated end-to-end job facilitation, skills training and sectoral transformation by harnessing the collective resources of Labour Movement, STB and industry associations. Other potential sectors include growth sectors such as advanced manufacturing, retail and security. We are also building on existing academy that have worked well in ensuring that our workers skills keep pace with industry development and transformation, such as the Singapore Bus Academy by the Land Transport Authority, National Transport Workers’ Union and public transport operators.
To enhance and complement all these efforts, NTUC launched the NTUC LearningHub Learning eXperience Platform (LXP) – a subscription-based mobile app with more than 75,000 courses in November last year – to make training accessible to time-strapped workers who want to take on courses that are relevant to them. Companies too can tap on LXP’s enterprise solutions content and functionalities to assist in the Learning & Development roadmap and implementation for their staff.
Wider Representation and Protection of Workers in Different Segments
Championing workers is NTUC’s raison d'être with calls in 2021 to protect the jobs and livelihoods of various groups of workers including lower wage workers, PMEs (professionals, managers, and executives), self-employed persons (SEPs), older workers, youth, as well as women and family.
a. Lower wage workers
Ensuring that our lower wage workers’ wage growth keep up with cost of living and their income growth continue to keep pace with median wage growth, NTUC will continue to work closely with tripartite partners to quicken and widen implementation of Progressive Wage Model in sectors with PWM, as well as expand it to more vocations and sectors such as pest management and strata & facilities management to benefit more workers.
b. Professionals, Managers and Executives
Local PMEs, especially the sandwiched group who are in their 40s to 60s, worry about employment and income stability. Following the recommendations by the NTUC-SNEF PME Taskforce issued last year, the key areas that NTUC will work closely with tripartite partners include fair workplace opportunities for local PMEs, strengthening the Employment Pass framework and process in favour of local PMEs and supporting PMEs who are involuntarily unemployed with transitionary support.
c. Self-Employed Persons (SEPs)
The pandemic has amplified work issues faced by our self-employed platform workers who are subjected to a high degree of control by platform owners. NTUC has highlighted three key areas that need urgent attention, namely better working terms and conditions; better working conditions such as timely support from platforms; and strengthen medical and injury coverage across platforms. As members of the Advisory Committee on Platform Workers, NTUC will continue to engage platform owners, monitor the SEP space and provide timely intervention for SEPs in need of assistance so that their interests are looked after.
d. Older workers
Retirement adequacy is pertinent to our workers – enabling them to work longer given the longer life span and boosting retirement savings are key areas. With our economy showing signs of recovery, NTUC will work closely with tripartite partners on implementing the next steps, with clear timeline, on raising of the statutory retirement and re-employment ages to 65 and 70, as well as increases to Central Provident Fund contributions so that it will stop tapering down until the age of 60, by 2030. We will also focus efforts on helping older workers, who will be impacted by industry transformation and digitalisation, to reskill and take on new jobs.
e. Youth
Opportunities abound in growing sectors such as the healthcare, biotechnology and chemical process technology (Applied & Health Science). NTUC, with our network of unionised companies and company partners, plans to partner Institutes of Higher Learning such as Institute of Technical Education to tee our youth to companies that have real placement opportunities for fresh entrants through programmes such as internships. Besides gaining practical hands-on work experience whereby youth may apply what they learnt in school at the workplace, they will also be receiving support and guidance throughout the internship from a Labour Movement mentor or supervisor.
f. Women and Family
Women who wish to return to the workforce would require multi-pronged support including pre-employment assistance such as mindset and skills training before matching them to hiring companies. NTUC training and placement ecosystem, including NTUC LearningHub, NTUC’s e2i and network of unionised companies and company partners, can ease women returners with targeted assistance and dedicated job matching to suitable jobs. NTUC is also working closely with companies to redesign jobs and adopt family-friendly practices such as flexible work arrangements.
NTUC Social Enterprises Continue to Cushion the Impact of Cost of Living
NTUC is keenly aware of our workers’ concerns and anxieties on the cost of living. NTUC group of social enterprises have always put measures in place to help cushion the impact of cost of living as well as help workers and their families stretch their hard-earned dollar.
NTUC FairPrice has announced the continuation of discount schemes for seniors and low-income families till the end of 2022 – this extension will result in more than $65 million worth of savings for customers since its start in 2015. NTUC FairPrice has also recently pledged $1.2 million in aid to families under the Singapore Red Cross-FairPrice Meals with Love programme which provides FairPrice vouchers to vulnerable families.
Our social enterprises are committed to continue helping members and workers stretch their hard-earned dollar. This year will be no exception and FairPrice group will soon announce initiatives to help workers cope with cost of living.
Conclusion
In paying close attention to increasing cost of living, NTUC will continue to work on practical and longer term approaches to help our members and workers such as union protection and targeted support to address their workplace needs, tripartite efforts to enable them to have better work prospects, as well as timely and meaningful care through NTUC’s group of social enterprises, including U Care Fund via NTUC Foundation that raises funds to help vulnerable members and families through financial assistance schemes and grants.
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